Pellets, ‘Non-Lethal’ Ammo That Blind, Maim & Kill Kashmiris

Metal pellets, the “non-lethal” ammunition has necessitated over 100 eye surgeries in the last five days.

Eighty percent of the injured in Kashmir are citizens under 25 years of age. (Photo: Pradeepika Saraswat)

Nine-year-old Tamanna was sitting idle by the kitchen window when a pellet hit her in the eye. Her mother Shameena is convinced that the CRPF deliberately targeted her home. Tamanna is among 100 others who’ve undergone eye operations in the last five days due to pellet injuries.

A report by ‘Physicians for Human Rights’ raises doubts on the ability of Kinetic Impact Projectiles (KIPs) or pellet guns to be used in a manner that is touted to be simultaneously ‘safe and effective’. It states that they “have the ability to penetrate the skin as conventional live ammunition and can be just as lethal. When launched from afar, these weapons are inaccurate and strike vulnerable body parts, as well as cause unintended injuries to bystanders.”

A change.org petition addressed to the Ministry of Home Affairs is seeking its ban on pellet guns in view of their “indiscriminate use in Kashmir to control crowds of unarmed civilian demonstrators.”

Video Editor: Prashant Bhrdwaj